An overwhelming 77% of families report that they have changed their shopping habits for the holidays this year. This is not good news for retailers because families say they are prioritizing family over gifts this year. They are cutting back on the number of gifts purchased and changing the methods used to purchase them. Perhaps the biggest change is in the quantity of gifts being purchased. Over 60% are cutting back on gifts for folks outside of the immediate family and most surprisingly of all, 56% are not buying as many gifts for their children as in previous years. Surprisingly, moms say they are cutting back on gifts for their children more than for their husbands. The good news for families (if not for retailers) is that more family time is being planned in lieu of the usual overabundance of gift giving.

The ways moms are making purchases this year also
show a marked change in spending attitudes. They
are being much more deliberate in their shopping, with over half doing more comparative shopping (55%) and using more coupons and store circulars (51%). As a further effort, over a third are only buying discounted items (39%) or sticking strictly to their shopping lists (36%). The credit crisis is also effecting how moms are paying for their purchases, with far more moms changing to cash and/or debit cards (27%) than to credit cards (7%) this year. And some kids may groan when they see socks or underwear under the tree: 28% of the moms say this year they are purchasing items usually considered to be necessities and using these as gifts.

Kids may not like to hear it, but mom is also trying to keep them out of stores. 20% of the moms say they are less likely to take their kids on shopping trips this year. Perhaps this is one change that has made kids themselves aware that things are different this year. In response to these obvious differences, among families surveyed, moms report their children's desire to help out financially this year. 1 in 4 say their children have considered selling their old toys or games to help pay for presents and 11% say they have already done so. Most kids are doing this to buy new gifts for themselves. However, some are selling their own toys to buy for others or to try to help with the family's financial difficulties. 6% of the moms say that their children are more likely to sell old toys this year than in previous years.

Families are cutting back in many ways in addition to changing gift giving habits. 25%
of those surveyed plan to travel less while 22% are utilizing the idea of making homemade gifts. Families are working together to create new and less expensive
holiday traditions.

This will clearly be a different holiday season for many families this year. Perhaps the one silver lining to the struggling economy for families is the quality time they will spend together, rather than in stores.